Match tonight OFF

[comrade powell]

Pitch failed a pitch inspection held around an hour before ko.

[BenE]

The ref and linos got changed and everything but then the goalies ran across the pitch and went ankle deep in the mud and that was it.

[Steve Whites Missus]

Hardly anyone there at 7pm when they called off. May have been a shocking attendance had it played. Would never have survived extra time!

[SteveS]

Surprised this was left so late considering the rain we had, forecast and the distance Concord had to travel. They are going to rightly feel aggrieved and this could well make them more determined when the game does take place.

[Micawber]

It was very frustrating that there was no statement from the club informing the supporters that the match was in doubt until it was announced that it was postponed at 7pm.
I assume that a pitch inspection was carried out earlier in the day and the pitch passed as playable. But surely nowadays when short term weather forecasts are so reliable the effect of hours of heavy rain leading up to kick off time ought to be considered. Every weather site that I looked at forecast the rain to continue to past 10pm which indeed was the case.
I think that for matches involving teams travelling long distances an early inspection should take into account expected weather conditions and postpone the game unless there is a high probability of the pitch being playable. This is especially true for clubs at our level and below and in the case of evening fixtures.
For a club like ours that prides itself on its professionalism and positive interaction with supporters I feel that the way the events of yesterday were handled was unacceptable. No doubt everyone associated with Concord Rangers were left fuming and as Steve said will be even more determined to beat us when the match takes place.

[Corstonian]

       It was very frustrating that there was no statement from the club informing the supporters that the match was in doubt until it was announced that it was postponed at 7pm.
       I assume that a pitch inspection was carried out earlier in the day and the pitch passed as playable. But surely nowadays when short term weather forecasts are so reliable the effect of hours of heavy rain leading up to kick off time ought to be considered. Every weather site that I looked at forecast the rain to continue to past 10pm which indeed was the case.
       I think that for matches involving teams travelling long distances an early inspection should take into account expected weather conditions and postpone the game unless there is a high probability of the pitch being playable. This is especially true for clubs at our level and below and in the case of evening fixtures.
        For a club like ours that prides itself on its professionalism and positive interaction with supporters I feel that the way the events of yesterday were handled was unacceptable. No doubt everyone associated with Concord Rangers were left fuming and as Steve  said will be even more determined to beat us when the match takes place.

Absolutely right, and I seem to remember harsh words aimed by us at Weston-super-Mare more than once in the past when they have called off matches at short notice. The pitch must have already been saturated at the start of the day and the weather forecast correctly predicted lots more rain over an extended period of time - even if the match had started there was little chance it would avoid being abandoned.

[Beau Nash]

Agree with Micawber and Corstonian.

I did raise the possibility of a pitch problem yesterday at 1355 hours:

"The weather forecast tonight is dire.
What plans do the club have in place for announcements?
Concord are probably already on their way?
I was planning to attend but have decided not to as I fear postponement or abandonment."

but received no reply.

In social media yesterday after the postponement I commented and asked a question:

"I have been warning about the weather ALL day...and it is forecast to get worse. If people had put their heads together around lunchtime Concord could have saved themselves a difficult journey.
...Perhaps referees aren't allowed to take into consideration the weather forecast which has been consistent for about 24 hours?"

These types of problems are not that difficult to manage but is it FA rules that need looking at?

[comrade powell]

SteveS, Micawber and Corstonian - the last line of Beau Nash's post answers your concerns. The FA is very unlikely to allow clubs to call off matches based on weather forecasts. I think we can predict what might happen if it did.

Beau Nash's suggestion above was sent to me and I have just replied with...

Unfortunately the downpour after 6pm put paid to the match going ahead. I'm told that before then the pitch was playable.

I assume that Concord left just after midday - it wouldn't have been possible then to give them a definite yes or no. Usually clubs are informed on route about prospects of play if there is doubt. I guess they arrived at TP as the heavens opened. It's similar to the situation we faced at Welling two years ago - match called of at 2.55

Incidentally, I don't recall our supporters criticising Welling that day - the pitch that day was clearly unfit following a deluge in the hour before just as happened last night.

Corstonian, I'm reliably informed that the pitch would have been passed fit at around midday and later in the afternoon.

Micawber, I will raise the issue of communication on days like yesterday.

[Corstonian]

OK - appreciate the response. I guess this is a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

[stillmanjunior]

I think it's an awkward one.

I don't think the club can say anything like "the game looks doubtful" at 3pm because people will start making other plans and decide to not bother, assuming it'll definitely be off. The forecast could have significantly improved and changed everything, so it could have been fine for go ahead but we'd have had a crowd in the very low hundreds.

It's just an unfortunate situation and I can only remember it happening once before for a midweek. It was against Bishop's Stortford 10/11 years ago, I was in the ground when they were warming up and it was getting evidently worse. Think it was called off half an hour before KO. Was just a few hours of rain which destroyed it. To my knowledge it's the first game we've had postponed for waterlogged pitch for four years, when most of the league programme was destroyed.

Havant v Slough is off tonight, but that's pretty much expected.

[BenE]

We have had deluges before and the pitch has drained away but last night it just stayed there. The decision was made reluctantly by the officials.
It made me a lot more sympathetic to WSM who I have criticised roundly in the past. Everyone wants the game to go ahead as planned but sometimes they are defeated by the elements. It was a ferocious downpour. The water was spraying up out of the manholes in the road in Saltford like geysers, such was the pressure of water.

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